Arne Slot Handed Pre-season Boost as Liverpool Youngster Excluded from Olympic Games Squad

Liverpool have received a boost as Stefan Bajcetic was excluded from Spain’s squad for the upcoming Olympic Games.

The 19-year-old has spent most of the last 15 months recovering from injury, limiting him to only three appearances for Liverpool last season. Despite returning to action at the end of the season, his chances of being called up for the tournament in Paris were slim.

Bajcetic, who has one cap for Spain’s Under-21s from September 2023, was expected to be included in their squad for last summer’s Under-21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia before his injury ended his season.

However, the youngster has not been chosen for Santi Denia’s 22-man squad for Spain’s pre-Olympic Games training camp, with the coach admitting the decision: “The most difficult squad I’ve ever had to make.”

The Spain squad will gather at the Ciudad del Futbol on July 1 to begin their preparations, before traveling to Bordeaux for a warm-up match against the United States Olympic team on July 18.

They are then scheduled to play Uzbekistan in their first game of the Olympics group stage on July 24, followed by matches against the Dominican Republic and Egypt.

Bajcetic’s absence is a huge boost for Liverpool, particularly after his recent injury troubles, as participating in the Olympic Games, with the men’s football tournament running from July 24 to August 9, would have meant missing most of pre-season.

Instead, the Spaniard will be available to train under new head coach Arne Slot, aiming to compensate for lost time with the Reds.

Although Bajcetic is not part of the Spain squad, it remains uncertain if Egypt and Japan will call up Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo as overage players.